Roofing shingles and fasteners



July 31, 1956 L. K. LOCKWOOD 2,756,699

ROOFING SHINGLES AND FASTENERS Filed March 31, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

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A T TORNE Y United States Patent ROOFING SHINGLES FASTENERS Lloyd K. Lockwood, Saginaw, Mich.

Application March 31, 1950, Serial No. 153,146

4 Claims. (Cl. 108--33) This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in roofing shingles and means for aligning and securing them in position.

One of the prime objects of the invention is to design a shingle which has no tabs to bend or break in cold weather, and which can be laid in a more rapid, accurate and less laborious manner, and at a marked saving in cost heretofore found impossible.

Another object is to provide a shingle so designed that it can .be securely anchored in position, which has two nail-free and unbroken layers of shingles over all nailing points, which will be leak-proof when laid, and Which forms a secure, intermeshed roof unit.

A further object is to design a slotted shingle which when secured in position, cannot move upward, downward or sidewise, and which can be reversed in laying so that prevailing winds blow over the joints, thus eliminating ballooning and the tendency to lift the shingle and tear the material of which it is constructed.

A further object still is to provide a shingle which has a large nailing area with grooves in the face of the shingle adjacent one edge thereof, said grooves forming a water trap to prevent water being blown or penetrating the overlapping shingles, forming a seal against side lap seepage and draining any trapped water to the face of the roof.

A further object still is to provide a shingle which can be laid either with the so-called Dutch lap or the staggered method, either of which is adapted for reverse laying with the grooved sections concealed from view.

Still a further object is to design a shingle formed with slotted edges in which the fasteners are mounted, said slots also serving as expansion joints to compensate for expansion and/or shrinkage caused by severe temperature changes, as well as a means for automatically and accurately aligning the shingle course.

A further object still is to design a shingle and clip which permits work on the roof project even when weather prohibits actual laying operations, as the workman can, during such periods, mount the clips on the shingles under cover, thereby speeding up the job when actual laying work is again resumed.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention then consists in the means hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawings and following description setting forth, in detail, certain means and one mode of carrying out the invention, such disclosed means and mode illustrating, however, but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing one of my shingles.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, plan view of a shingle roof showing my improved shingles with fasteners in position thereon.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, sectional, edge-elevational view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an edge-elevational View showing the butts of the first course of shingles.

2,756,699 Patented July 31, 1956 'ice Fig. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, transverse-sectional I view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 8 indicates the shingle proper which can be formed of any desirable material, and which can be of standard size and shape. This is preferably formed with slots 9 on either one or both ends as desired, and spaced-apart, vertically-disposed grooves or channels 10 and 11 are provided adjacent the one edge thereof to form a water trap in each side lap.

Angularly disposed grooves 12 and 13 are provided on the opposite sides of the groove 10, and it will be noted that these grooves intersect the main groove 10 in staggered relation, the groove 13 protecting openings of grooves 12 when the shingles are laid left to right, and in right to left laying grooves 12 form a baffle to prevent water seeping between the overlapping shingles and beyond said grooves, any water seeping under the edge of the shingle being drained to the face of the roof over the lower shingle, all as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The shingles are held in position by means of fasteners F clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings, and these are preferably in the form of a bendable stamping, and comprise a main body section 14 having an open offset nail-accommodating passage 15 intermediate its length, the one end section of the fastener being turned as at 16 so that it can be readily hooked over the upper end of a shingle; thence the section 17 leads downwardly as shown with the end turned to form a claw 18 terminating in a prong 19 which readily pierces the upper edge of the shingle when struck with a hammer, and I wish to direct particular attention to the fact that the section 17 is slightly offset or askew with relation to the main body so that the pronged end, when driven, clears the main body of the fastener. This locks the nail shank in place and prevents the fastener from becoming detached, and while I find this to be a very effective securing arrangement, it will be understood that changes may be made as long as correct distance and relationship between the top edge of the shingle and aligning fastener are maintained.

A stepped or shouldered vertical section 20 is provided adjacent the nail passage 15, this section 20 being accommodated in the transverse section S of the shingle slot 9 to position and align the shingle; thence the section 14 extends horizontally as at 21, the under face of this section being disposed over the face of the shingle, the lower end being bent to form a return bend as at 22 to accommodate and align the bottom edge of the overlapping side lap of the adjacent shingle in the course. The sections 20 and 21 may be referred to as an upwardly stepped portion having a section 22 upwardly bent therefrom. Thence the section 23 of the fastener leads upwardly and terminates in a downwardly projecting claw section 24, the end of which is pointed to form a prong 25 which pierces the overlapping edge and the body of the lower shingle when bent down to position; the nail N is driven, thus firmly securing the fasteners in spaced relation and arrangement when the shingle course is laid.

The section 23 of the fastener is also slightly askew with relation to the main body and lies flat against the face of the shingle with the end piercing the main body thereof, and it will be noted that there are two nail-free, unbroken layers of roofing over all nailing points.

When the nailing point is over a bridged spot, the fasteners F span the bridge and prevent the angled nail head or forcefully driven nail from breaking through the shinis gie material at this point, all as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the attached drawings.

In the instant application I have shown the slot 9 leading upwardly from the lower edge of the shingle and opening into a slot 26 disposed laterally to slot 9 to form a T, but I wish it to be understood that this slot can also he an inverted L-shape or straight, or any other shape desired. The slot 26 is of suflicient width to permit expansion and contraction due to severeweather conditions and also permits necessary or desired adjustment.

Locating marks 27 are provided at predetermined points on the edges of the shingle and serve as aligning marks to indicate the overlap of each shingle in the course, thus the overlap will be uniform, requires no guessing by the workman, and these marks can be pressed into the shingles as they are manufactured.

In laying the shingles, a strip '23 of relatively narrow material having proper locating marks for indicating the attachment of the fasteners is provided, this material being about two inches wide and is preferably in roll form. This strip'would, of course, be laid to a chalk line (not shown) and after the stripnad been nailed and the fasteners attached at proper points, the shingles can be laid in usual Dutchlap method, and I wish to direct attention to'the fact that when the fasteners are properly placed on this starter strip, the side laps will be automatically taken care of, this starter strip eliminating exposed nails on cave edges. If desired, the strip 28 can be eliminated and the shingle can be laid as follows:

A chalk line (not shown) is struck across the cave edge 29 to align the first course of shingles. The predetermined marks 27 will allow the roofer to properly gauge eachside lap, and after several shingles are thus laid, the respective fasteners are attached and nailed at proper points, and the next course is ready to be started.

The slot in the shingle is then placed over the fasteners P so that the upper edge of the slot bears against the upright section 26 of the fastener, while the elevated section 21 of the fastener is disposed over the lower part of the slot and face of the shingle. The fact that the section 21 is free to move over the slot and adjacent edges of the shingle takes care of head lap and side lap alignment, while adjacent fastener aligns the exposed side lap. With the shingle now in proper alignment, the section 23 is then flattened down over the exposed side lap of the adjacent overlapping shingle and the barb 25 is embedded into the two underneath thicknesses of shingles.

After once chalk lining the starter course, no further alignment is necessary, as the fasteners self-align and perfect horizontal and vertical lines are assured.

It will also be obvious that it is not necessary to first lay the first course all the way across in step fashion, it merely is necessary that the starter course follow the chalk line and the balance of the roof will be perfectly aligned.

The fact that both the slots and fasteners are of uniform size and dimensions ensures absolute accuracy in laying and alignment once the first course is laid, and inasmuch as there is but one nail to drive, the laying can be done much faster and with less effort than at present possible with the conventional type shingle.

It will be noted that as the courses are laid, the grooved end sections are covered and concealed from view, the courses will be straight and true, and but one nail is required for securing each shingle.

From the foregoing description, it will be obvious that I have perfected a simple, practical and economical shingle and fastener construction which can be readily applied, aligned and secured to form a neat, leak-proof roof.

What I claim is:

I 1. A bendable fastener for securing composition shingles in courses on a sloped roof, each shingle having an open slotted passage in the lower edge thereof, each fastener being formed with a claw-shaped askewed end to hook over the top edge of one of the shingles in the lowermost course and with an upwardly stepped portion intermediate the length of the fastener to bear against the closed end of the slotted passage in the shingle in the next uppermost course, said upwardly stepped portion having a section upwardly bent therefrom on the end of said fastener opposite said claw-shaped end to engage and align the bottom edge of the side lap section of an adjacent overlapping shingle in said next uppermost course, said section of the fastener having a return section relative to the end of said fastener opposite the claw shaped end extending from said upwardly bent section formed with a prong on the end thereof to pierce the two lapped portions of the shingles in said next uppermost course when the return section is bent down flat against the face of said adjacent overlapping shingle to secure said shin- ,gles in position.

2. A bendable fastener adapted to be applied to secure a portion of a sloped roof covering comprising a plurality of composition shingles arranged in courses on the sloped roof, each shingle having open, slotted, transverse passages in the top and bottom edges thereof, said fastener comprising an intermediate portion formed with a laterally curved section to form an offset nail shank accommodating section, an askewed end turned downwardly from said intermediate portion and thence doubled back under to said intermediate portion to hook over the top edge of one of the shingles in the lowermost course, said end having an upwardly turned prong formed thereon to pierce said shingle, said intermediate portion having an upwardly stepped portion adjacent said offset section on the side thereof opposite said end to bear against the closed end of the slotted passage in the shingle in the next uppermost course, and an askewed opposite end portion turned upwardly from said upwardly stepped portion and thence doubled back over said upwardly stepped portion to hook over and the bottom of the side lap of an adjacent overlapping shingle in said next uppermost course so that two shingle layers are disposed over the head of a nail in said offset section, said opposite end portion having a downwardly turned prong formed thereon to pierce the side lap portion of said adjacent overlapping shingle and the lapped portion of the shingle in the same course thereunder.

3. A bendable fastener for securing shingles in courses on a sloped roof in combination with a shingle forming part of a lowermost course, a shingle forming part of the next uppermost course and overlapping the top portion of said shingle in the lowermost course, said shingle in the next uppermost course having a transversely extending slotted recess leading from the bottom edge thereof, andan adjacent overlapping shingle in said next uppermost course with a side portion thereof lapping said first mentioned shingle in said next uppermost course, each fastener being formed with a claw-shaped endto hook over the top edge of the shingle in the lowermost course and with an upwardly stepped portion interjacent the ends of the fastener bearing against the marginal end wall of said slotted recess, said upwardly stepped portion having a section upwardly bent therefrom on the end of said fastener opposite said claw-shaped end to engage and align the bottom edge of the side lap section of the adjacent overlapping shingle in said next uppermost course, said section having a section extending therefrom transversely to overlie the adjacent overlapping shingle in the next uppermost course and secure it in position, and means for securing said fastener in position.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 in which the recess is formed with the upper portion thereof of greater width than said fastener to permit lateral adjustment of the shingle and expansion and contraction caused by abnormal temperature changes.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Blocher Oct. 3, 1899 Honigbaum May 19, 1925 Kridler Feb. 23, 1926 Kridler et a1. Apr. 27, 1926 Grice Dec. 28, 1926 6 Figge Oct. 23, 1934 Anderson June 29, 1937 Logan Feb. 10, 1942 Wickersham June 2, 1942 Tullock Jan. 16, 1945 Washburn Nov. 19, 1946 Lockwood July 12, 1949 

